James Theuri is the new Unit Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources in the Kankakee Unit and began his appointment with Extension on March 16, 2005.

James has a doctorate in Plant Pathology from the University of Missouri, a masters in Plant Protection from Reading University in England, and a BS in Biology from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. His specialty area is Integrated Pest Management.

James comes to Kankakee County from the University of Missouri where he was a Research Associate in the College of Agriculture, identifying diseases on plant samples submitted by the Cooperative Extension Service, especially of soybean diseases.

James has experience in plant/crop disease identification, both through University of Missouri and the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). At KARI, he also trained commercial operators and farmers on sustainable agriculture methods and applications, and on soil conservation. He also carried out laboratory and on-site farm applied research to improve productivity of food crops, as part of his duties.

James looks forward to working within the communities of Kankakee County and making beneficial inputs in their lives.

The Agroecology/Sustainable Agriculture Program at the University of Illinois promotes research and provides outreach opportunities of a wide spectrum of alternative farming practices, as well as, ways to provide an adequate and dependable farm income. This year's schedule of six sustainable agriculture tours sponsored by the program represents this diversity of topics.

"This is the third year that we've offered sustainable ag tours around the state," said Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, a University of Illinois research specialist who is coordinating the tours. "Illinois has a lot of creative farmers and entrepreneurs who are willing to open up their farms and businesses for a behind-the-scenes look. They are very honest in sharing what has worked for them and what they will never try again. It's a great learning experience."

The first tour is entitled "A Closer Look at Sustainability." It will be held on Wednesday, May 25 at the Center for Sustainable Community in Stelle, Illinois. The tour will include a look at the community's solar powered telephone company that also provides high speed wireless internet service; the wind mill-supported portable water treatment facility; organic and permaculture oriented gardens; and a lunch prepared with some of Stelle's organically raised foods. For more information about the community, visit: www.CenterForSustainableCommunity.org.

The second tour is entitled "Organics from Seed to Table" and will take place on Thursday, June 23 beginning with a presentation about an organic vegetable project at the University of Illinois South Farms and will include a visit to Jon Cherniss' Blue Moon Farm. Intensive organic vegetable production is one of three transitional farming systems being compared in the project at the U of I to determine how differences in management intensity and organic matter inputs affect weeds, soil organic matter, nutrient availability, soil organisms, and the relationship between soil fertility, plant health, and insect/disease pressure.

There will be two tours in July. On Wednesday, July 13, "Organic Vegetables, Greens and Herbs Grown in Intensive Beds" will be the topic on a visit to Growing Home Farm in Marseilles, Illinois. Growing Home is an organization that trains homeless people in agriculture as part of a job-readiness program. Visitors will see over 30 types of vegetables growing on a certified organic farm, permaculture plantings, bees, vermiculture and free-range poultry. Tours will also include an emphasis on organic soil fertility methods including cover cropping, under-sowing, rotation and succession planting, compost-making and remineralization. For more information, visit: www.growinghomeinc.org/.

On Tuesday, July 19, there will be a tour of QW Farms in Edgewood, Illinois where the topic will be "On-Farm Composting." Issues about on-farm composting will be presented in the morning with a tour of a small scale on-farm composting operation in the afternoon. Composting methods, regulations, marketing, and how composting fits into a nutrient management plan will be discussed. Illinois State University is a co-sponsor for this tour.

On Friday, August 12, the sustainable ag tour will be held in Sandoval, Illinois at the Lyons Fisheries Prawn Farm for a look at "Illinois Farm-raised Freshwater Prawns." Visitors will experience first-hand how farm-raised freshwater prawns are produced. The tour will include the hatchery, nursery and grow-out ponds, as well as, live prawns on display.

Then on Tuesday, September 13 "Marketing Opportunities for Agricultural Entrepreneurs" will begin in Arthur, Illinois at the Arthur Produce Auction Center. Lunch is included at Yoder's Kitchen and the tour will conclude at Condil's Great Pumpkin Patch. It will be auction day at the auction center, so visitors will actually observe how a produce auction works with both buyer and sellers on hand to answer questions. Later, at Condil's Great Pumpkin Patch, the tour will conclude at one of Central Illinois' best examples of agritourism. This tour is co-sponsored by the Illinois Farm Fresh Network.

A small fee will be charged for each tour. Registration at least one week in advance is required. Visit http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/asap/topics/tours.html to register and for more details about the tours or contact Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant at (217) 968-5512 or cvnghgrn@uiuc.edu.

The tours are sponsored by the Agroecology/Sustainable Agriculture Program in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Professional Development Program and the Illinois Small Farm Task Force.

Information for upcoming programs and meetings of interest to the general gardening public....

• Tuesday, May 3, 2005 at 1:00 p.m. – Ornamental Vines telenet program-free at the Kankakee County Unit office. Please call to pre-register.
• Saturday, May 7, 2005 – Master Gardeners will have presentations about gardening at the Farmers Market.
• Tuesday, May 17, 2005 at 1 p.m. – Telenet about Vegetable Garden Design at the Extension office. Again, please call to pre-register.
• Thursday, June 16, 2005 – from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Garden Walk at the Marcy Stewart-Pyziak residence and another home with a cottage garden. Cost is $5.00. Must pre-pay, pre-register, and at that time, directions will be given to Marcy's home. Rain date will be Friday, June 17, 2005.